AIRCRAFT - Battle of Britain Group Build (Jan 1st 2005 - May 31st 2005)

Rick The Hurricane looks great.

A really good looking build.

I'm hoping to get a coat of future on mine on Sunday, with decals on Monday, so it's slowly getting there.

Karl

Thanks Jay. Aeromaster has released 2 versions of markings for this Aircraft. I think the later version may have made some of the corrections you mention. But all I had was the earlier release & it was "close enough" for me .

Regards, Rick

Rick, I must say that is stunningly beautiful, I can only hope my hurricane even come half way to yours.

I asked about the decals as I know several other modelers here in Calgary (Which by the way was Willies home town!) that have tried three different manufacturers' decals for Willie McKnight and I think the aeromaster decals were "inaccurate", they commented that the lettering is too light and it was a slightly different font (thicker) than what can be seen on actual pictures of his aircraft. Also the skeleton figure supposedly had his mouth closed (from real pictures), not open. Now these observations came from some pretty serious builders and I myself really take everything with a grain of salt.
Like you, I build for my own personal enjoyment and satifaction of having a good looking, representative model. So with that being said, You did an excellent job and if anybody comments on the supposed "inaccuracies" of the aeromaster set then tell them to stick it and just not look at it.
I love the hurricane and I rank it up there on my favourites next to the P-51D!

Darren, Razordws, Daniel, Bob, Jules, Joe, Tom, Thanks everyone for the comments. Much appreciated & glad you liked the build.

Darren, the canopy is a Vac Form from True details. I cut it out of the blister with scissors.

Razordws, I 'm not sure yet about the Canadian GB, but if I join in, I'll come up with something. I've got a Hobbycraft 1/48 Sea Fury kit with the Cutting Edge resin detail set in my stash, so maybe that will be my build.

Joe, after Future, the panel lines were enhanced with a wash of water based acrylic. I used Burnt Umber on the Dark Earth areas, Black Green on the Dark Green areas & pure Black on the control surface separations. The wash was applied with a 20/0 lining brush into the recesses. I'm not a fan of sludge washes.

Regards, Rick

looks great Rick! Well worth the wait for us to see!!! Definitely some fine work there....

Rick

Absolute stunner! When (or as my wife says IF) I grow up I want to be just like you. How did you do those panel lines? Sweet, smooth and clean build...Thanks for the look !

QUOTE: Originally posted by tho9900 Daniel - sounds a lot like here... a normal day is 50% humidity or more... if it rains it is automatically upgraded to 100%... you have a bit more tropical climate in parts of AU than here... but I am subtropical where I live and the moisture is horrible!!! on a side note... why is "sub tropical" actually above the tropics? meaning it is more tropical in the tropics than in the sub tropics? seems like the subs should be deeper in the tropics... kinda like sub zero... sub marine... sub sandwich...

Sub zero... sub marine... sub sandwich eh TomMan that is some quantum thinking buddy

Rick, Stunning seems to sum up your hurricane mate, Fantastic build i'm looking forward to seeing some more of your work in some other GB's

Great job Rick. Fine looking Hurricane.

That's a beautiful build Rick. The camo looks great. Thanks for sharing the build with us.

Tom You've got me confused now. I think the answer is that the tropical is fully tropical, but the sub tropical is less-tropical. Like submarine means under water. Same with subway or sub zero (I think the sub means less than or under). But back on topic....

Nice build Rick!!!!

NIcely done as always Rick! Can't wait to see what you are going to build for the Canadian GB?

Awesome build Rick , she's a real eye catcher. Thanks very much for all your contributions and I've updated the front page and marked you as complete.

Darren

---edit---
Oops, forgot to ask, how did you cut the canopy on your Hurricane?

Well here she be. Hurricane Mk I of No.42 Squadron, flown by Flg Off W. L. McKnight. Willie McKnight was a Canadian flying with the RAF and had ace status with 17 confirmed victories & 2 shared. The aircraft is depicted as it appeared in December 1940. Technically this is later than the "official" end of the BOB in October 1940, but hostilities continued until the end of the year & many historians consider December, 1940 as the actual end of the BOB. McKnight was KIA flying this aircraft on January 12, 1941.






The kit was the 1/48 Hasegawa. Aftermarket goodies were resin replacement seat, armorplate, exhausts & wheel bay from Ultracast, Vac Form canopy from True details, & decals from Aeromaster. Hope you like the build .

This ends my builds for this GB, but I'll keep checking in to see how some of you slow pokes are moving along.

Regards, Rick

WOOHOO 100 Pages of yacking and some of it has even been on modeling

Darren

maybe the sub tropics are so far under the tropics, they end up back above it!!

Daniel - sounds a lot like here... a normal day is 50% humidity or more... if it rains it is automatically upgraded to 100%... you have a bit more tropical climate in parts of AU than here... but I am subtropical where I live and the moisture is horrible!!!

on a side note... why is "sub tropical" actually above the tropics? meaning it is more tropical in the tropics than in the sub tropics? seems like the subs should be deeper in the tropics... kinda like sub zero... sub marine... sub sandwich...

darren Same reason really. The humidity is usually pretty high when it is raining, especially if it is hot when it's raining. I tried spraying while it was raining once, and the paint didn't turn out right (it was all faded and chalky). It might have just been a coincidence (bad batch of paint?!!) , but it hasn't happened since. I just presume it was because of the rain, so I don't risk it any more.

It's dry hear today, so I might get that coat of primer on it.

I have a mad two day Warhammer 40K vehicle build with my 16 year old son this Friday and Saturday. He is building a Blood Angels Space MArine Whirlwind (sort of a M113 with twin missile lauchers) and I am building a Tau hover tank with a great thumping rail gun.

As I am holidays, I should be able to knock off the Spit next week - all things being equal and if I sort this canopy issue out sucessfully! Then it is on to the Aussie GB entrant!

cheers

Mike

QUOTE: Originally posted by pingtang Looking forward to seeing those pics Rick. Still raining here, so no painting today. Might clear up tommorrow (but that's what they said about today), so might get a coat of primer on it.

Daniel, this might be a really stupid question, but how come you don't spray when it's raining? The only time I try and avoid spraying is when it's really humid as the moisture in the air really taxes my moisture trap.

Darren

Yeah Karl,? well I've achieved double squat since last Wednesday! Weather has turned chilly again which makes it hard to airbrush in an un-insulated garage! and I haven't had a good amount of time since. oh well ...c'est la vie!

Rick Looking forward to those pics.

As for me I've achieved exactly squat since Sunday!

Karl

Jay, the decals were from the Aeromaster Battle of Britain Special. The antennae wires are now on the Hurricane. Need to take some pics & get them posted.

Regards, Rick

Great Rick, I really want to see Willie's decals on your hurricane, which decal set are you using? I think there are three different manufacturers out there for his set. Maybe it'll give me incentive to really go hard on my hurricane, been kinda slow lately.

Looking forward to seeing those pics Rick.

Still raining here, so no painting today. Might clear up tommorrow (but that's what they said about today), so might get a coat of primer on it.

Well, finally got all the fiddly bits on the Hurricane & it's complete except for the antennae wires. Hope to get those on, take some pics & post em. Getting too late do it tonight, but hopefully tomorrow.

Regards, Rick

I feel for ya Mike... I still have two half built Grumman Widgeones (old Airfix kit) that I refuse to give up on and refuse to continue to torture myself at the same time... so they sit there until one or the other side prevails...

I am about to scream at this kit, but I will prevail. I honestly like older kits but this issue annoys me as I like canopies that FIT!!!

Fun and games at the Johnson residence.

Hopefully some sanding time after gym tonight will sort all out

cheers

Mike

Work on my spitfire has stalled. I was going to give it a coat of primer today, but it's raining, so it'll have to wait a few days. While I'm waiting, I'll mask the canopy and stick it on (usually I do this last, but I'm gonna try something different this time).

I think it's a wonderful book Tanky... you just haven't become sufficiently distrustful of authority and elected officials to fully appreciate it yet...

QUOTE: Originally posted by tho9900 hmmm... Fun Foam... gotta get some of that stuff... just the name alone reminds me of "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley... Looking good Karl... I am still in a modeling desert here... my civic association in my neighborhood decided this was a good weekend to start on the water bulkhead along the lake entrance to the boat ramp... so I had to go down there and look busy for awhile so they thought I did something... on a positive note I did get free hot dogs and pizza out of it... (it's a good thing because tonight was tuna surprise night at Happy Acres again!!) Can't wait to see you and Ricks finished birds!

Ughh, that book disgusts me. I had to read it and well, it's probably the reason I'm in Happy Acres ya know... even though I'm done I'll still hang around here just cuz of all the weird talk, occasionally it has to do with modeling too!

QUOTE: Originally posted by darson Karl, great looking progress on the Hurri but I've got to ask, what the heck is "fun foam"? Cheers Darren

Errr......ummm.......hmmm......well it's like this funny kind of foam, that comes in various colours and thicknesses.

It's about 2mm thick, and can be cut with scissors or a craft knife into what ever shape takes your fancy. I used strips of it to fill the wheel bays, pressing the foam tight against the edge of the well by inserting tissue.

I know that's a pathetic explanation, but it's as good as you're going to get on a Monday in March.

Karl